The Witch Within
by Phanstarlight
Summary: 'The stunned silence echoed in the room. There he was, the great Professor Layton, a golden statue on the floor' But what happened between the Professor being turned to gold and Maya's trail? What made Luke believe Maya truly was a witch?


**My interpretation of what happened between the Professor being turned to gold and Maya's trial. I don't own any rights to Professor Layton, Ace Attorney, or the crossover game. Enjoy!**

The stunned silence echoed in the room. There he was, the great Professor Layton, a golden statue on the floor. Everyone's eyes were glued to the gleaming body and no one dared move. But the stillness could not last forever and rightfully, it was broken by a sob falling from the lips of Luke. Everyone's eyes snapped towards him and this seemed to restart all his stunned muscles. He turned his back to the Professor, pushed his way past the small crowd of gawking strangers in the doorway, and sprinted out the house.

"Luke!" Maya shouted after him. She felt the accusing eyes of the crowd staring her down but she did not let that phase her. She quickly stepped around the body of her friend, not bearing to look at it in fear that she may simply freeze on the spot, and ran as fast as her small legs could carry her out of the house. Whether Phoenix followed her or not she couldn't really say; her main concern was Luke. Maya burst out the door to find that the weather had dramatically changed. Rain lashed down from angry black clouds, soaking her through almost instantly. The wind pulled at her hair and clothes, making them whip against her skin. She began to shiver and almost turned away and ran back inside. But she knew that wasn't an option, she had to find Luke first. Her eyes scanned her surroundings frantically and at first, she saw nothing. But then her eyes locked onto a set of footprints, hardly visible in the rain, leading off to the left. Without a second left to thought, Maya sprinted off in that direction, following the footprints as best as she could. She pushed her hair back out of her face as she followed the trail, tucking it behind her ear. The fact that she was soaking and freezing didn't help her concentration but she tried desperately to stay focused. She just couldn't leave Luke out here on his own after what they had just witnessed. No one should be out in such weather alone and, despite his constant bravery, Luke was still only a child. Her eyes continued to scan the ground, following the footprints and occasionally looking up to see if she could see anyone who might have seen Luke. But of course she never saw anyone; no one in their right mind would be out in weather like this. She wound her way through the streets and soon she lifted her head to look around and she realised that she actually had no idea where she was. It seemed to be a different part of town that she hadn't seen before.

"Luke?" she called out. She didn't expect a reply but somehow a miracle happened.

"Leave me alone!"

Maya had no idea where the voice had come from but she couldn't stop the sense of relief washing over her as Luke's voice hit her ears.

"Luke! Thank God you're okay. You shouldn't be out in weather like this, especially after what just happened" she called out, walking in a circle as she scanned her surroundings. This time no reply came but Maya was certain the boy could still hear her.

"Come back to Patty's with me. I'm sure Espella and Nick will meet us there. Please Luke, I can't leave you out here alone"

Silence followed for a few moments before Maya heard footsteps to her right. Quickly, she turned to see Luke standing a few feet away. His cheeks were flushed, his clothes were soaked, and his whole body was shivering. Slowly, Maya reached out towards him but he stepped away from her. She raised her eyebrows in confusion but didn't say anything. She reached out towards him again.

"Witch!" Luke suddenly yelled, pointing at Maya as new tears formed in his eyes. Maya retracted her hand and stared at Luke in shocked silence.

"I-It was you! It had to be! There was no one else there who could have done it. It was all your fault. You killed the Professor!"

Maya was too shocked to move. She hardly noticed as Luke turned and fled down a narrow alleyway. She stared at the spot the boy had just been in. He didn't mean it, did he? Surely he understood that she couldn't have done such a thing? And to the Professor, no less. Before she could stop herself, she felt the horrible sense of nauseating guilt wash over her as hot tears spilt down her cheeks and a pathetic sob escaped her lips. Maybe it _was_ her fault. The Professor had died protecting her after all. Sure, she hadn't killed him with her own two hands but his death was still her fault, just like Luke had said. Maybe she did deserve to die for her crimes...

"Maya!"

"Nick" Maya gently whispered out as her friend approached her. Quickly, he took off his suit jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders before pausing for a moment.

"Maya? What's wrong? Where's Luke?" Phoenix asked worried, noticing the tears in his friend's eyes. Suddenly, Maya couldn't hold it in anymore. A tidal wave of tears burst out of her as she threw herself against her friend, sobbing into his chest. Instantly he wrapped his arms around her, concern etched across his face.

"I killed him" she managed to choke out between her sobs.

"What?" Phoenix pulled away from Maya to look at her face.

"I killed the Professor"

"What are you talking about? That's complete nonsense! You didn't kill him and I know you didn't. I'm going to prove that to everyone"

"Luke, he called me a witch" Maya finally turned her eyes to look at her friend to find a completely shocked face looking back.

"I'm sure he didn't mean it. He's just shocked and scared" Phoenix tried to comfort her but they both knew his words held little confidence. Without another word, Maya began to walk towards where she had seen Luke run off but Phoenix quickly held her back.

"I think it would be best if I go. Get yourself back to Patty's as quickly as possible, okay? We'll meet you there"

Maya left without much protest and soon Phoenix was alone in the rain. It wasn't as heavy as it had been before but it was still steadily falling. He briefly looked around before jogging down the alleyway Maya had been heading towards. It didn't take him long to find Luke. He was curled into a ball against a stack of wooden crates. When he realised Phoenix was approaching, he tried to climb over them but slipped on the wet surface and fell backwards. Luckily, Phoenix was close enough and caught the boy just in time. At first, he struggled to try and get out of Phoenix's grip but his fight was short lived as soon he collapsed into the defense attorney's arms and let out a loud sob. Knowing that Luke was in no state to talk to him and certainly in no condition to walk, Phoenix gently adjusted his grip and carried him against his chest to try and shelter him from the rain as much as possible as he made his way back to the bakery as quickly as he could. He managed to push the front door open and stumbled inside before gently setting Luke down onto his feet. Much to Phoenix's surprise, the boy didn't move. He simply stood and stared at the floor, his clothes dripping from the rain. After a moment of silence, Phoenix decided to call out.

"Maya? Espella? Patty? I'm back. Luke's okay"

Suddenly Patty burst in from the other room, quickly followed by Espella.

"Oh, thank goodness you're both okay. We were so worried!" Patty ushered Phoenix over to the fire but Luke still didn't move.

"Um... Luke?" Maya slowly appeared in the doorway, her face still slightly damp but from tears or the rain, no one could tell. One look at Maya and Luke suddenly sprinted upstairs, new tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Luke!" Maya called out and tried to run after him but Espella caught her arm.

"Just give him some time, I'm sure he'll come around" she said softly. Maya nodded slowly and then Espella and Patty left, leaving Phoenix and Maya alone once more.

"They'll be coming to arrest me soon" Maya quietly said and Phoenix suddenly realised she was right. Without a word, he pulled her into a hug. They stayed there in each other's comforting embrace until the door burst open, sending a blast of ice cold wind into the house. Maya was taken without much resistance because they both knew that any resistance would be useless. But just before she left his arms, Phoenix quickly whispered in her ear.

"I'll get you out of this"

And that's exactly what he intended to do.


End file.
